He had found a nearby town where he could drop that Rose woman off. Despite her injuries being severe, she did prove to him that she wasn't incapable of dealing with Grimm. It was more along the lines that she didn't know how to shut up when he asked. He liked quiet and solitude while she enjoyed noise and company, two opposite ends of the scale for the both of them. The only thing that really tied them together was their cloaks. Hers was still bloody from her injuries while his was simply just worn out from his travels but it still hid his figure. They were nearing the town and could see it from their spot on a mountain and a small relieved smile graced his lips. Only another hour or two and he could finally get back to being by himself and not next to this woman.
"Hey, Wolf." She called out.
"What is it Mrs. Rose?" He asked, adjusting the hood over his head.
"Where do you plan to go?" She asked as they walked.
"Somewhere, I don't really care." He answered flatly.
"You don't plan on settling down?" She asked.
"No. I'd rather be on the move than settle down somewhere." He answered.
"Won't you be lonely?" She asked.
"I have no intentions of travelling with another." He said in a flat tone. She flinched at the harshness of his content and merely shrank back into herself. A small part of her wanted to argue but she saw that he was one of those people that didn't like being next to another during his travels. If he had encountered people and traveled with them for a short while then that was fine but he wasn't somebody who would go and seek company.
"R-Right..." She trailed off and walked with him in silence. Over time, her aura healed her enough to walk and fight some but she still needed to go to a clinic or hospital to be back in tip top shape like how she was before. He started to ignore the fact that she was walking after she explained to him the use of aura. Something he considered completely preposterous and illogical then wrote it off as a mutation. She offered to unlock it for him but he simply told her to stay at a respectable distance from himself and nearly slashed one of her fingers with knife when she insisted. From that point on, she stayed at least a couple of feet away from him.
The minutes stretched to tens of minutes before an hour and a half passed by and they reached the town. Both of them looked around town for a little bit before they had found a clinic and walked inside. It was quiet and a little music in the background was for waiting patients. They walked up to the front desk and waited patiently for the receptionist to notice them, jumping slightly when she saw them.
"What can I do for you two?" She asked with a smile.
"She needs assistance." He gestured to Summer.
"Okay, just a moment." The woman said. It was quiet for a few minutes before a couple of doctors came out and began to lead her to one of the rooms. One of them tried to lead him to a room to check up on him but he merely brushed the hand away and started to walk out, ignoring the man's pleas to stop and let him get checked out. He didn't need any medical assistance since he was still fine, what he needed was to get more supplies since Summer had eaten into his. It was always better to be safe than sorry.
As he went to go purchase items, he realized that he didn't have enough lien to pay for anymore items nor could he get anymore ammo for his weapon. He still had his personal ammo but that was meant for dealing with people and he found out that his was apparently custom ammunition in Remnant's standards and cost a bit. Another thing that struck a cord with him was how weak this ammunition was compared to his, it was about as useful as a musket round. This Dust ammunition was so underwhelming that he'd rather use weaponry from the twenty-first century than this type. Beggars couldn't be choosers he supposed.
Walking around town, he went to a billboard near the center and saw that there were little bounties and had rewards should they be completed. As he looked and gazed at some of them, he found one that wasn't too hard but it wasn't easy. It was a simple extermination of a group of Grimm. He read the contents of the paper and looked around before his eyes saw a building that was down the street. The building wasn't too old but it wasn't new either, probably a couple years old at best.
The little bell at the top of the door rang loudly as he entered and found a man sitting at a desk and walked up to him. It was quiet for a little bit before Six placed the bounty paper on the desk roughly, catching his attention.
"What can I do for you?" The man asked.
Six answered by sliding the paper further onto the table and waited for the man to read over it for a few seconds before look up at him.
"Oh, that little Beowolf bounty? Heard it's dangerous with a whole pack of em roaming around these parts. You sure you're up for the challenge?" The man asked.
"I'll manage." Six answered then began to leave.
"Wait! Before you go, if you find out what happened to the last few people who took this bounty then can you inform us. We'll throw in some extra lien if you do." The man's voice was sort of pleading, not going unnoticed by the Spartan.
Six left without another word. He had at least something to do.
It took him about two days but he eventually found out where that den of Beowolves were. He didn't even need to fire a single shot because of how uncoordinated and reckless they were. All he really needed to do was maneuver out of the way and either stab or slash their throats. Inside the den was the previous people who had taken the bounty and perished, their bodies decomposing and half mauled to death. The grisly sight didn't really affect him at all and he had suspected they were dead otherwise the bounty would've been claimed by now.
He didn't say anything but just shook his head and began to walk out of the den, snagging a few blood coated items as proof that the people had perished. The need for income never really appealed to him but he needed it if he was to get that custom ammunition that was so great, experimentation with Dust would be needed in the future if he was to maintain his survival. In all honesty, he wasn't even sure how the underwhelming ammunition would react with his weapon, it could turn out bad if he wasn't careful or didn't pay attention.
Time seemed to slip by like always while he walked, it was relaxing in a sense. The soft grass underneath his armored boots to the wet mud of the swamps he encountered and finally the river he seemed to slip by made walking all the more relaxing. It didn't take him as long to return to the village, or settlement by some, since he knew the way back this time. It took him roughly a day and a half to actually make it back. When he entered the building with that he accepted the bounty from, he set the bloody items on the desk and watched as the man's face morph into one of sorrow.
"Thank you... your pay is right here." The man said quietly as he set Six's original pay then the additional pay up for doing the extra task. Six took it without a sound then left the building just as quietly. He walked through the town to get a simple layout of it before making his way to the store to purchase some items. Like always, the cashier shot him a look and watched as he loaded the items in his bag before making his way to the gun store. The gun store was simple, numerous weapons on the walls and some boxes full of ammunition, the type he was looking for was once again, custom and required him to wait for the type to be manufactured.
"Oh, it's you. 7.62x51mm Full Metal Jacket Armor Piercing, right? Couldn't exactly find the same material you had inside that bullet but I gotta say, never seen anything like this before, you planning on fighting a war or something?" The cashier joked, only to receive silence in return. Did this man actually think war was funny? Did he know what it was like to be shot at and almost perish or to lose a comrade? Fat chance that he didn't.
Six threw a couple of lien cards on the counter and grabbed his "custom" ammunition before walking out of the door, leaving the cashier in awkward silence. He already knew these weren't even that strong due to them being filled with Dust instead of gunpowder. He'd have to experiment with Dust. Maybe there was a way to increase the firepower of it to match the effects of the more effective gunpowder. From what he's heard though, Dust is extremely volatile if not handled correctly but he brushed those concerns off. His shields could mitigate the damage to him or completely block out any of it if need be.
His mind wandered to that little bounty he did and contemplated on doing another. While he knew that doing another one would put him on the radar of this town, it did lessen the threat of Grimm around the area and possibly give these denizens some breathing room. It also did put a little income in his pocket so he could purchase items for the future. On the other hand though, he wanted to leave and possibly come back another day, if he decided to come back during his travels. So, he went back to town square and looked at the bounty board, descriptions of some did interest him but didn't pose that high of a threat. He didn't become a Spartan just to sit back and watch as a threat to humanity trample all over them.
Fate didn't seem to be on his side since none of the bounties didn't seem too pressing to where it was threatening. Some would've wrote it off and went by but Six merely tilted his head and observed them. There were a total of five bounties on the board, all of them having different types of Grimm for the pictures. The locations of each Grimm was fairly close to one another and he figured that he could knock them all out within the same time frame. At this point, he wasn't even looking for a reward, it was more along the lines of doing his duty as a Spartan and eliminating a threat to humanity. Ripping off all of the papers, he took them and went back to the same building where the man had his head in his arms.
It took him a few minutes to notice the Spartan but he quickly wiped away the tears and looked down at his desk to see the remaining bounties spread out. Each one had been harder than the last and he was too busy gaping at the task the cloaked man had taken.
"Sir, you can't do this on your-" He didn't get to finish because Six was already out the door and onto his next mission. While he knew that eliminating those Grimm wouldn't free the settlement forever, it at least gave them some breathing room.
While walking all this distance proved to be tedious at times, it did help him locate the different Grimm quickly. The Beowolf pack to the North took a couple of days to find and they weren't even that threatening, A large bird that was ironically called a Nevermore took around a day to find and it took a few well placed shots to its eye to finally bring it down, A den of Creeps proved to be more troublesome than he imagined since they were constantly moving but it did give him an insight on what to expect when he encountered more, and the final bounty was an Ursa Major. It proved to be a little less menacing than a Brute but it did prove to be faster than what he imagined for a beast of its size.
His back slammed against the wall and cracked it while he just peered up to see its massive form barreling towards him. He rolled to the side just in time to see it slam against the wall and the stalactites above wriggle back and forth from the impact. These Dust rounds were highly underwhelming and he'd say it a million times more but it did have some curious effects. He fired a round into the stalactite above and watched as it cracked and fell quickly onto the large beast. It roared at him and prepared to charge but suddenly gave a horrifying roar of agony when the sharp rock-like object punctured it and pinned it to the floor.
He went up to it and slammed his fist into its mouth before ripping out a couple of its teeth and tossing them to the side as evidence that he completed this little thing. It swiped at him but he just moved out of the side and brought out his shotgun, placing the barrel against its forehead and pulling the trigger. Blood, brain matter, and skull fragments exploded and splattered against the surrounding area. It was quiet for a while before he placed his shotgun back onto his back and went to the few teeth that were scattered and scooped them up into his bag.
The silence seemed to bring him peace as the quiet sounds of the wild brought a sort of tranquility to the mix. It was nice but it was also overwhelming at times. For pretty much a majority of his life he was used to seeing dead bodies or hearing plasma and gunfire, even the sound of death was welcoming but total quiet and peace... it unnerved him slightly. The lack of objectives or missions was actually mildly irritating also but he flushed it all out after a while. His bag was slung over his shoulders once more in a diagonal fashion which didn't block his magnetic strips before his cloak was slung over his body once more.
Call it odd but the cloak did bring a semblance of comfort to him, it was his "fur" in a sense, protecting his armor from the harsh conditions of the wild while protecting his figure from the inhabitants. Of course there were times when it had to come off when he fought but most of the time he kept it on. His personal musings were cut short when he began to make his way back to the settlement again, he would inform them that the threat was eliminated for now then leave to the next town or just take him wherever his foot took him.
The days dragged on slower than normal and for once, he was glad they did. It meant people would forget about him and he could slip out unnoticed. He had looked at his TACPAD and had noticed that two weeks had passed by since he's taken up that task and was returning to the settlement. Ignoring the people near him, he went back to the building where he accepted the bounties and opened the door. Silently as ever, he retrieved the items from each of the bounties and set them on the desk.
"Y-You're back?" The man said.
Six gave a curt nod and stared at him. He watched as the man fumbled around his desk to receive the pay and practically threw them on the desk and stared up at the Spartan. His eyes widened when Six only took a portion of it then began to walk out of the building.
"Wait! You're not going to collect the rest?" He asked.
"No... give it to someone else." Six replied then exited the building as silently as he came in. As soon as he exited the building, he heard someone call out to him and turned to see Summer running towards him. She looked rather excited for some reason and was soon in front of him, her health had recovered quickly.
"Whew, I'm so glad to see you. Where were you these last few weeks?" She asked.
"Doing tasks." He answered.
"Really? What kind of tasks?" She asked.
"..." He didn't say anything but just pointed the bounty board and watched as her eyes widened.
"That was you?!" She screeched, making him wince a bit then sigh at her volume.
"Yes." He answered curtly.
"I've been wondering what had happened to all those and when I ask around, that man in the collection building said a cloaked man had taken them all." She put her hands on her hips.
"... Is that a problem?" He tilted his head.
"What? No, I mean people who often do those are usually really skilled." She said.
"I see..." He muttered.
"Well, how much did you get paid? I bet it's a lot." She said.
"I only took a small portion. The rest is still there." He answered. He watched her eyes widen a bit then began to flail her arms around for some reason. This woman was extremely animated.
"Why?! You can get a load of weapons and ammo with that kind of money." She said.
"I am comfortable with what I have." He answered. It was quiet for a while as the two stared at one another.
"You really aren't good at conversations are you?" She deadpanned. He didn't say anything but just looked around a bit before turning to leave then began to walk away from her. As he neared the gate, he noticed that a blip was following him and turned to see Summer trailing right behind him.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to travel with you." She beamed.
"...Why?" He asked after a minute of silence.
"I mean, I still have to do my mission but I figured I'd tag along and you can help me." She smiled.
"That is not a wise choice, Mrs. Rose. You should return to your family." He advised then began to leave.
"But-" She started.
"Think of the emotional trauma you could cause to your loved ones if you had perished." He interrupted. This made her stop, could she really leave her family like that and leave them in such a state? To leave her two little girls and husband alone while she went and possibly died on a mission? She couldn't bare the thought of doing such a thing, she knew that she had a mission to complete but could she really put her mission over her family?
"I think-" She stopped when she saw his figure starting to turn smaller as he exited the settlement. He didn't want to spend anymore time in the settlement and he didn't want the Rose woman following him. He really didn't have a destination in mind but he just wanted to be alone like he's been since he's got here, it was calm and peaceful when he traveled. There was the sound of a goodbye being said to him and he looked over to see Summer waving to him while he just stared at her for a few seconds before giving a curt nod.
There was no reason to trust her and he probably wouldn't ever but she did provide him with some answers, even if they weren't the ones he wanted, she still provided him with answers. She was quite the character but them travelling together would spell trouble that he didn't need at the moment. He didn't need anyone to travel with and she didn't need him for her mission. Should they cross paths again so be it, but neither of them were meant to work together. She had too much to lose bringing him with her and he didn't need her problems on his plate.
Though he would admit, she did make interesting company...
As time passed by, he noticed that this region was rather, immoral. Bandits and criminals seemed to roam freely in this region and Grimm seemed to be more vicious. He simply stared at the destroyed settlement, walking through the ruins of what was once great. It was a shame since the attack seemed to be fresh. Dead bodies could be seen strewn about and the occasional Grimm would be seen in the distance. Smoke filled the air from several houses and the scent of dead, decaying bodies threatened to reach his nostrils had his helmet not been on. Houses were cracked or broken like simple toys and very vaguely he could spot a mutilated body inside, neither of which fazed him in the slightest... he had seen worse.
It was a shame he didn't arrive here sooner, these people would probably still be alive, with some casualties, but a majority of them alive nonetheless. Nothing could be done now so he decided it was time to move on. He didn't even need to loot for any supplies since he was well stocked and didn't need anything for the next few weeks. Water could be found in rivers, his canned food was stocked well enough and he only needed to eat every so often. He rarely used medical supplies due to his armor but they were there just if he needed anything.
Before he could fully exit the settlement two blips appeared on his radar and he stopped. They weren't yellow or red but a simple clear blip that signaled an unknown variable. His head craned to the side and he caught sight of two objects moving underneath a house. At first he was going to leave but as a few minutes passed by he decided to see whatever it was. If it was civilians then he needed to direct them to the nearest, safest location. It was his duty as a Spartan to protect humanity, even if it's something as trivial as children.
Heavy boots seemed to make the faintest of sounds as he walked closer to the broken house and peeked underneath to see two children scoot back. Both their clothes were dirty, the girl seemed to be dirtier than the boy but their eyes were wide with fear. He saw the boy quickly hug the girl and both their bodied were engulfed in a gray effect, making him raise an eyebrow. They expected him to leave but all he did was kneel there observing them for the next minute. He didn't say anything but just extended his hand out towards them. As expected, they flinched at the sudden movement but he remained there with his hand extended towards them.
Several minutes seemed to pass by before he spoke.
"I don't intend to harm you." He assured them. Silence seemed to bask them before they made the faintest movement and started to scoot towards him, their hands cautiously reaching towards his. Eventually both their tiny hands met his gigantic one and he lifted them out from underneath the house and on their feet. In their eyes, he was gigantic, towering over them by feet and even seemed to be muscular underneath his armor. He knelt down to their level and stared at them from underneath his hood, looking over their bodies to see if there were any injuries on them, mostly scrapes and bruises that could be fixed easily.
"Where are your parents?" He asked them.
The boy went teary-eyed and pointed a shaky finger towards town square, where the Spartan followed the direction and it landed on the grisly sight of a body in the middle. Another direction made him look to see a collapsed house and it didn't take a genius for him to put two and two together. He looked down then back at the boy before nodding his head. It was always hard to see kids this young to have to see their parents either dead or missing, something about that just made him uncomfortable.
"I don't have any..." The girl said.
"..." He didn't say anything but he did look around for a bit before sighing and standing to his full height, looking down at them. "Come along." He said as he started to walk away.
"What about my parents?" The boy blinked a few tears back. Six stopped and looked over his shoulder at the body of the man then at the house where he presumed the woman was.
"I cannot do anything for them. Though I will try to do something for them if I stop by." He answered.
"Why not now?" The girl asked.
"It's dangerous. My top priority is to get you two to safety." He answered. They looked at one another before beginning to follow him, standing on either side of him while he just walked towards the next settlement. He didn't want to go back to the previous one since they had tried their hardest to get him to stay but also the people there were lying snakes in the grass. It didn't take a genius to figure out they wanted his armor, some shady individuals even wanted him to work for them. Actions like that made him rethink ever visiting that settlement again. There was also the fact that he wouldn't dare leave two young children in such a place, he had seen what happens when younger ones are exposed to that kind of environment.
As they walked out of the settlement, he felt a tug on his cloak to his right and looked down to see the little girl with orange hair looking up at him.
"Do you have a name?" She asked.
"Six." He answered calmly.
"That's a number, not a name, silly." She managed to smile, even if it was a wobbly, teary one.
"It is mine. What is your name?" He asked, ignoring her initial comment. It didn't offend him in all honesty, it was expected from a child so young.
"Mine is Nora Valkyrie!" She beamed. He nodded then looked to the boy in green, the young man looked up at him before turning back to the road ahead.
"Lie Ren." He muttered quietly. Six nodded then turned to the road ahead, noticing that the girl was trying to give a smile despite the events that occurred. It was probably a way for her to cope with the massacre that happened earlier. The three of them had their backs turned to the ruins of the settlement. The girl clutching her wooden hammer tightly and trying her best to smile, the boy who kept a straight face while trying to keep his emotions in check, and the Spartan that had brought them out of the ruins and would lead them to safety with his cloak flowing calmly in the wind.
The other two didn't realize he didn't intend on staying with them long, only for them to make it to safety and use one another to survive the trials ahead.
So, you all have no idea how terribly sorry I am for not updating my stories. I have been busy enjoying my summer but also I'm moving into my dorms for the first time. I didn't move in last year because I wasn't ready and I just drove back and forth but this year I'm doing it for a different experience so I might be more inclined to update more, I don't really know. Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you for waiting patiently for another chapter and I hope you all understand I start school in about a day so don't be surprised if I don't update. Onto reviews now.
Gamerman22: I don't know if I'd add Master Chief, I mean he is my favorite character but I've always had a particular interest in Six. He may do something about a certain psychotic scorpion if he comes across him.
reviewer: I'll try to update more frequently.
Rookie059: Yeah, I'm trying to go that route to where he doesn't say much about himself, just answers questions that he feels obligated to but nothing about his affiliation, past, or what he is.
Lord of Moons: I don't think I would, if I did a second story then maybe but for the most part, no. I really didn't think I had him acting like an ODST. I mean there's nothing wrong with that since they're certified badass motherfuckers and they'll always hold a special place in my heart but I didn't think I had him like that. Like I said, there's nothing wrong with that.
Astrefernal: Here you go.
spartan- 140: I... actually have no idea.
The Baz: I don't know, I think I'm just tired of having all my characters being so young. I mean I haven't brushed up on my Halo lore in god knows how many years, even longer with the novels but literally all my characters are still teenagers at the start of my stories, with the exception of a certain monster, and I wanted to do something different.
Guest: I've kind of grown to dislike her character a bit in canon. For one, she's ungodly arrogant, her definition of family is actually fucking stupid, and most of all she abandoned her daughter for her fucked up term of family. I mean, I wouldn't have a problem if they did something with her character in volume six but they literally didn't do anything with her and it really pisses me off. They have so many characters that could be something great but they just end up shitting on them, for example, Adam. He could've been a decent character that had a cool build up but they just ended up making his character annoying beyond all comprehension to the point where I was glad he fucking died. Sorry to rant but they're just fucking up so many interesting characters, I'm not saying I could do better but it's just a pet peeve of mine.
Specter343: I'll try to keep him likable.
darkromdemon: Yeah, my redaction could use some work since it's not top tier but I do try to make it at least somewhat readable. I'll try to improve on it and as far as Remnant against Spartans, yeah, I'm trying not to make it seem like they're pushovers.
sacke110: Glad you liked it.
Stormspartan21: None taken, friend. I had to read back on it the other day and I did notice that I kind of ruined the immersion a bit when he insulted Raven like that. I'll try to have him act more like a Spartan than an insulting asshole in the future. About the pairing thing, I do intend to keep that up with him not being paired up with anybody, because I mean they're Spartans. When have you ever heard them get mushy about their feelings. Sure they may form companionship with other Spartans and even some cases fellow Marines but never romantically. On an unrelated note, have a nice day to you too.
alertpoet91: Thank you, here's another one.
the-lost-memories-6: Maybe in the future, I don't know.
Josephi: Who knows, maybe he'll make a mistake.
Hamilton406: Yeah, it's going to be a recurring thing in this story so you don't have to worry about him telling his life story or any information about himself to anyone.
CheesusChrist15: I like you name, and thanks. I'm not aiming to be perfect but I at least aim to be somewhat enjoyable to read to some people. I'm more of a person who likes to complete their stories than make them perfect. After all, nobody in this world is absolute perfect, some may think so but everyone at least makes mistakes. We're human after all.
Guest: I'll keep that suggestion in mind when I'm making future chapters. I think I saw you on The Mantle of Remnant when I was reading it, I don't know. It's a good story by the way so if some of you haven't gone to check it out go do so.
Anyways, I want to thank you all for waiting patiently and reading this chapter. Before I leave, I want to make a small note. I don't care if you don't like the story or what goes through your mind, I'm not aiming for constant approval if that's what you're wondering. Some guy messaged me and basically got on my ass saying I was an attention hog and that I was seeking approval from everyone. I'm not. I usually receive some since I took the time out of my day to make a halfway decent story. Hell, I don't even really seek any reviews because it always takes me weeks to check my account since I'm so busy with work and school. I don't ask for much you guys. Just give my story a chance and if you like it then cool, if not, then so be it. I'm very simple, don't like it then don't read it and don't bother leaving any reviews.
Other than that, thanks for taking the time out of your day and I hope you all do well in the future.